CPAC: Guns, racism, and God — here’s what to expect at the right-wing’s annual carnival of crazies

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) will kick into high gear with panels and speeches by potential 2016 presidential nominees like Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and real estate tycoon Donald Trump. The conference got off to a rocky start, as its official mobile app confused the event’s only two African-American featured speakers — but if history is any indication, it is only likely to get worse.

One of the most notable aspects of any CPAC is the public bickering that occurs between the various parts of the Republican coalition. After years of denying LGBT groups like GOProud a forum, CPAC finally allowed the Log Cabin Republicans to participate — but only on a panel on how America should respond to increased Russian aggression, not only focused on gay rights or same-sex marriage.

Although the conference generally welcomes Islamaphobes, the 2013 conference wasn’t friendly enough, as members of a Breitbart-sponsored panel argued that they were “banished” from the proceedings as part of a “stealth jihad” being waged by the conference organizers.

So what does the 2015 CPAC have in store? Apart from Rand Paul winning the presidential straw poll, the conference is sure to produce some fireworks as contenders for the GOP nomination vie to establish credibility with the Republican’s religious and libertarian bases at the beginning of the 2016 election cycle.

While there is no guarantee that candidates who openly appeal to the party’s fringes — like Dr. Ben Carson, Sen. Ted Cruz, Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Gov. Sarah Palin, or former Sen. Rick Santorum — will say something outrageous, it is unlikely that conservative talk radio personalities like Mark Levin, Laura Ingraham, and Sean Hannity spend three days in CPAC’s politically rarefied air without uttering something ridiculous.

About the Author

Scott Eric Kaufman is the proprietor of the AV Club's Internet Film School and, in addition to Raw Story, also writes for Lawyers, Guns & Money. He earned a Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of California, Irvine in 2008.